2006 Elite League speedway season

The 2006 Elite League speedway season was the 72nd season of the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1][2]

2006 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsPeterborough Panthers
Knockout CupCoventry Bees
Craven ShieldPoole Pirates
Elite ShieldCoventry Bees
IndividualJason Crump
PairsBelle Vue Aces
Highest averageJason Crump
Division/s belowPremier League
Conference League

Season summary

In 2006, the league consisted of eleven teams, after the newly named Reading Bulldogs, moved up from the Premier League. The Championship was won by the Peterborough Panthers by a single race point in the play-off final.[3]

Peterborough and Reading battled each other throughout the season finishing level on points in the regular season table before Peterborough edged Reading in the Play off final. Peterborough had a strong all round squad and included Danish trio of Hans Andersen, Jesper Jensen and Niels Kristian Iversen, in addition to Australian Ryan Sullivan.[4] Reading who had come up from the division below had recruited Greg Hancock as their main heat leader who finished 7th in the league averages which were headed once again by Australian stars Jason Crump and Leigh Adams.

Final table
Home Away Bonus
Pos Team M W D L W D L F A Pts W L Tot
1Peterborough Panthers4018026014194217314816464
2Reading Bulldogs4016049110193417565113764
3Swindon Robins4019014115189317864714661
4Coventry Bees4018115015185618354711958
5Belle Vue Aces4019012018188017614215557
6Wolverhampton Wolves40161341151827184042101052
7Poole Pirates4018021019188018063813651
8Ipswich Witches4017032018184718373881246
9Eastbourne Eagles4017123017179118604151546
10Oxford Cheetahs4011091019169619892421826
11Arena Essex Hammers4011090020165820032231725
= Qualified for Play Off finals

Play-offs

Semi-Final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.

Semi finals

First leg
Reading Bulldogs
Charlie Gjedde 13
Greg Hancock 12
Janusz Kołodziej 8
Travis McGowan 6
Zdeněk Simota 6
Mark Lemon 4
R/R		49 - 47Peterborough Panthers
Ryan Sullivan 15
Hans N. Andersen 14
Piotr Świderski 8
Richard Hall 6
Ulrich Østergaard 3
Jesper B. Jensen 1
Niels Kristian Iversen R/R

Second leg
Peterborough Panthers
Hans N. Andersen 14
Ryan Sullivan 12
Richard Hall 10
Niels Kristian Iversen 5
Piotr Świderski 4
Jesper B. Jensen 2
Ulrich Østergaard 1		48 - 45Reading Bulldogs
Mark Lemon 12
Greg Hancock 11
Janusz Kołodziej 9
Travis McGowan 7
Charlie Gjedde 4
Zdeněk Simota 2
R/R

The Peterborough Panthers were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 95-94.

Leading averages
Rider Team Average
Jason CrumpBelle Vue11.21
Leigh AdamsSwindon10.47
Hans AndersenPeterborough10.40
Peter KarlssonWolverhampton9.94
Nicki PedersenEastbourne9.92
Bjarne PedersenPoole9.39
Greg HancockReading9.28
Scott NichollsCoventry9.05
Mark LoramIpswich8.92
Jesper B JensenPeterborough8.76

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2006 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 68th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Coventry Bees were the winners of the competition.[5]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
13/04Swindon40-50Reading
10/04Reading47-43Swindon
06/04Peterborough57-37Arena Essex
03/04Wolverhampton54-40Oxford
31/03Arena Essex59-35Peterborough
29/03Oxford43-47Wolverhampton

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
10/07Belle Vue56-38Arena Essex
07/07Arena Essex44-46Belle Vue
07/07Coventry56-40Ipswich
07/07Reading51-42Poole
05/07Poole58-34Reading
03/07Wolverhampton41-51Eastbourne
01/07Eastbourne55-38Wolverhampton
01/06Ipswich48-42Coventry

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
29/09Coventry61-31Eastbourne
28/09Poole43-34Belle Vue
16/09Eastbourne46-44Coventry
11/09Belle Vue53-41Poole

First leg
Belle Vue Aces
Jason Crump 14
Kenneth Bjerre 9
Simon Stead 9
Phil Morris 7
Tom P. Madsen 3
James Wright 3
R/R		45 - 45Coventry Bees
Scott Nicholls 13
Martin Smolinski 8
Rory Schlein 8
Chris Harris 7
Emil Kramer 3
Billy Janniro 2
Oliver Allen 2

Second leg
Coventry Bees
Chris Harris 12
Scott Nicholls 9
Martin Smolinski 9
Rory Schlein 8
Troy Batchelor 8
Billy Janniro 5
Oliver Allen 5		56 - 40Belle Vue Aces
Jason Crump 15
Simon Stead 12
Davey Watt 5
James Wright 4
Phil Morris 1
Joel Parsons 1
R/R

The Coventry Bees were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 101-85.

Team Lineups

Arena Essex Hammers

Belle Vue Aces

Coventry Bees

Eastbourne Eagles

Ipswich Witches

Oxford Cheetahs

Peterborough Panthers

Poole Pirates

Reading Bulldogs

Swindon Robins

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "2006 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. Bamford, Robert (2007-03-01). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN 0-7524-4250-3.
  4. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  5. "2006 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
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